Chapter 27: Han Family
The imperial capital was the heart of politics and all laws and regulations were made here.
It hosted the greatest of minds and every corner would scream laws and order.
The most notable thing however was the populace. Unlike other cities that were mostly populated with young people going about their daily lives fucking around, the capital had an air of seriousness with the youngest being in their 20s.
It was not that there were no young ones in the capital, but they were too busy studying to be found loitering around.
And that was assuming they were able to stay in the capital to study. Only those with high enough status, or intellect could stay in the capital to study.
The was only one school in the capital. The First Advanced Institute of Learning. Commonly called Imperial 1.
Imperial 1 had all types of schools under it. It covered a whole district with schools from kindergarten to University and had a lot of research institutions in between.
The Imperial 1 was a way for the Empire to gather talent and maintain control over future generations.
It was also the best way to fight against talent erosion.
The school was home to the best of mind and the cruelest of schemers. It was a very harsh place to survive but those who could manage, they would be set for life.
Just by graduating from there, it'd be no surprise if you get a marriage proposal from one of the 5 major families in the Empire.
One of these families was the Han family.
The Han family was not the richest, but they had the most versatile of businesses. Their businesses did not generate enough profit to make them the third richest. They could barely maintain the fourth place.
But they had taken control of 80% of the Catering Industry. No hotel or any other establishment for that matter, would run without them being involved somehow.
And the way they did it is ingenious.
Back in the day when farmers were having a problem transporting their produce, the Han family would do it for them.
When landlords were asking for too much rent from peasants, the Han family would take their daughters and have them serve as maids in hotels at the time until they came of marrying age.
And if they were lucky, the Han family would act as matchmakers and link them to some pretty good families.
They did much more thankless favors at the time, and over time, these favors accumulated till the Emperor became wary of them.
And to keep a close eye on them, he sent the most capable of men to war. And the Eras changed but this move did not make the Han family weak.
The women of the Han family were more shrewd than the men. While the men accumulated military merits, the women collected political favors and made connections in the silk industry.
And when the times of peace came, they sent their children to learn from the successful.
Those without eyes would have thought that the Han family was always meant to serve. And they were right, they served so damn well that they ended up serving the Emperor as Prime Minster.
And this continued till this day.
They have never been greedy but they always have a way of getting whatever they wanted.
They have shown arrogance, but the emperor himself brought them forward as his pride.
The scariest thing about them is that they have no ambition.
Yes, be it military or politics, the people from the Han family never seek to be promoted. But after serving for a while, even the Emperor would be ashamed if he did not raise their rank.
And that is the reason that they hold so much power.
If ranked, they would not be first, but nobody would agree with putting them second.
Their Socio-political power was strong like that.
And then there was this generation.
Han Zi Xuan might be the baby, but her ingenuity in the art of espionage was out of this world. It was just that her brain was always in the clouds and things on the ground were not always as colorful.
But that was not a problem.
She had three older brothers who doted on her.
The eldest was in politics and if nothing went wrong, he would succeed his grandfather and serve as the prime minister.
The second eldest was a businessman. The business he was into was not money but balance. He was a genius when it came to modeling and after the collapse of the economy some years back, he had worked with his father to restructure and improve the country's business model.
The third was a military man. The crazy kind. He did not have rank nor did he have an army under him. But he was the leader of Dragon 1. A team of mad men that would sooner die than fail a mission. And he had yet to fail.
That was what made this generation fierce. They had all avenues covered, unlike the previous generations that would only have one or two.
But today, the whole family was having a headache.
They were powerful, yes, but that did not mean the country was their backyard where they could do whatever they wanted.
Especially with the Yan family looking at them so closely trying to find an opening to curb their powers.
The Emperor could indeed not kill them, but that did not mean that he could not take an arm or a leg.
And then this happened.
Their little princess was playing outside and met a madman.
Usually, they would do some background checks on the people she wanted to play with, but this time, the things they found were different from reality.
The dude just opened an Emailing Service and they thought it was just for some coin on the side.
But right after she started her game, the dude blew his top and opened Pandora's Box.
Now, the whole world is in an economic crisis because of it. It would not take long for the Yan family to find out about this.
The Emperor was sensible and it would be easy to talk to him, but the dowager was right beside him. It'd be a blessing if all she did was raise a storm in court.
"Zi Xuan'er played with an aggressive boy this time. Han Chen, go and see if he is willing to pull back a little in exchange for some benefits."
An old but regal voice sounded in the meeting hall.
"Yes, grandfather."
"His technology is interesting. If we play this right, it will greatly benefit the Empire. Han Huang, go see the people in the Institute of Technology and see if they can make this thing. Have the results before Han Chen meets him."
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone